Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving

Time to give thanks!

It is that time each year of the big sale where retailers make or break their year and a holiday where we get to eat too much turkey and watch too much football or even when we start to put up the Christmas decorations. At least there is no snow here. This is a big day!!!

For most of the year, many of us spend our time focusing on what we don’t have or of what we want or need more. That can be resources, people, market share, revenue, stock price or the financials to fund the projects that can accelerate our progress toward our goals.

Far too seldom we reflect positively on what we do have. Thanksgiving is a time to step back and see our gifts and be thankful for them. For the pilgrims it was just the fact that they had survived the winter. For us it is so much more.

You will have a number of encouragements to thank God for His bounty and I recommend that too. I really do!! We are so blessed.

In addition, perhaps this is the time once we have re-identified our gifts to determine how we can use them more productively to our advantage. That could be the positive relationships with our loyal customers, top quality products, current market position that we have earned, our core competencies or even the fantastic collection of talents we have in our people.

Take some time to think. Just think, not do. Think about what you do have and how you can make it all work more effectively for you. I know that you will benefit from the exercise. And yes exercise after the turkey will also benefit you.